Dynamic component substitution in Web-based simulation

Recent breakthroughs in communication and software engineering has resulted in significant growth of Web-based computing. Web-based techniques have been employed for modeling, simulation and analysis of systems. The models for simulation are usually developed using component based techniques. In a component based model, a system is represented as a set of interconnected components. A component is a well defined software module that is viewed as a black box, i.e., only its interface is of concern and not its implementation. However, the behavior of a component, which is necessary for simulation, could be implemented by different modelers including third party manufacturers. Web-based simulation environments enable effective sharing and reuse of components thereby minimizing model development overheads. In component based simulations, one or more components can be substituted during simulation with a functionally equivalent set of components. Such dynamic component substitutions (DCS) provide an effective technique for selectively changing the level of abstraction of a model during simulation. It provides a tradeoff between simulation overheads and model details. It can be used to effectively study large systems and accelerate rare event simulations to desired scenarios of interest. DCS may also be used to achieve fault-tolerance in Web-based simulations. This paper presents the ongoing research to design and implement support for DCS in a Web-based Environment for Systems Engineering (WESE).